April 24, 2006

D.C. Mayor Tony Williams is backing off a planned crackdown on double-parking around city churches on Sundays, WTOP and the WaPo are reporting.

The city plans to impose a moratorium on enforcement until a task force recommends ways to end squabbles between churches and their neighbors. Photos of the parking mess in Logan Circle can be seen here.

The moratorium was announced Sunday at a lively Logan Circle rally by the chairman of the mayor's interfaith council, Bishop Michael Kelsey of New Samaritan Baptist Church. At the rally, the church-goers blamed new high-rise development in the area.

Police had planned to start ticketing illegally parked cars in May. Mayor Williams explained: “I don’t want to penalize congregations that have been part of the fabric of our city for generations. ... Likewise, we can’t penalize District residents just because they live near a church. This problem has festered for too many years, and I am firmly committed to coming up with a viable solution that will permit our neighborhoods to continue to thrive as enjoyable places to live, work and worship.”